King Ulanda

He is trained by Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero out of their yard in Oldcastle, Cheshire — a team that has hit 43 winners already this season, which tells you this is not a small operation finding its feet. Ben Smith is his most regular rider, having partnered him in 5 of his 17 races and winning 1 of them, a rate of roughly 1 in 5 together. The pair clearly have a working relationship, even if it hasn't always translated to the winner's enclosure.

What makes King Ulanda interesting is the picture his trainer painted earlier this year. After a flat run at Haydock, where the horse made errors and stopped running, Greenall and Guerriero were candid: this is a horse who needs fast, dry ground and wants a sharp two miles. He is described as speedy rather than staying, and the team believed he had been improving before that disappointing day. The Bangor win this week suggests they found the right conditions to prove exactly that.

Most of his racing has come at Class 4 level — solid mid-tier competition — where he has won just 1 from 11 races, or roughly 1 in every 11. That might sound modest, but it reflects how competitive that level is rather than any lack of ability. His first career win came at Huntingdon in May 2024, and the fact that he has kept winning into 2026 shows a horse who has stayed sound and motivated. His recent form — a win, then a sixth, followed by a couple of runs where he didn't complete — is worth watching, but with the ground drying out as the season progresses, King Ulanda may be just the kind of horse who has more to say yet.